Yale School of Medicine's 2022 commencement will feature a private practice ophthalmologist known for his medical satire on social media as its speaker.
William Flanary, MD, known as Dr. Glaucomflecken online, is a Portland, Ore.-based private practice physician. He attended Dartmouth College Geisel School of Medicine and was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society while there. Dr. Flanary then completed his residency at the University of Iowa in Iowa City and became editor-in-chief of Eyerounds, a top ophthalmology educational resource.
Dr. Flanary is also a cancer survivor. He was diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2012 during his fourth year of medical school. He has been public about his journey through treatment and coped by telling jokes and founding GomerBlog when he was no longer able to do stand-up comedy.
"Comedy-writing has helped sustain me over the last few years, even as cancer reared its ugly head again, requiring more surgery and hormone therapy," wrote Dr. Flanary on his website. He is a supporter of First Descents, a nonprofit for young adults affected by cancer to connect with outdoor adventure experiences.
"I tend to internalize my grief and anxiety until it eventually comes out in joke form," Dr. Flanary wrote. "I needed to see and hear other people my age struggling with cancer. …The First Descents program was a lifeline for me."
Dr. Flanary's YouTube page, where he posts short satirical videos about his experience as a physician, has 528,000 subscribers. His Twitter page has more than 557,000 followers, and his TikTok videos have been viewed more than 18.6 million times.